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Japanese passengers move 32-tonne train to rescue trapped woman

Heroic effort captured by newspaper photographer Norihiro Shigeta

Train passengers and railway staff push a train car in their effort to rescue a woman who fell and got stuck between the car and the platform while getting off at Japan Railway Minami Urawa Station in Saitama, near Tokyo, Monday morning, July 22, 2013.Photo: Norihiro Shigeta, Yomiuri Shimbun

Dozens of train commuters in Japan banded together to push a train carriage away from the platform on Monday, freeing a woman who had fallen and gotten wedged in the gap.

It’s unclear how the unidentified woman had fallen in, but a photographer for the Yomiuri newspaper who took an incredible photo of the rescue explained that she had gotten stuck “around the waist.”

A public announcement that a passenger was trapped prompted about 40 people to join train officials to push the carriage. The 32-tonne train’s suspension system allows it to tilt slightly to either side, allowing the woman to escape.

The woman, described as being in her 30s, was pulled out uninjured to applause from onlookers at JR Minami-Urawa station, just north of Tokyo.

The entire delay took about eight minutes, after which the train was on its way.

Check out the full-size photo below, taken by Norihiro Shigeta of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.